We present the 2024 Market Report to the press

By Marina Payan 31/03/2025

Amat’s General Director, Guifré Homedes, presents the 2024 Market Report at our Luxury office in Barcelona.

On March 25th, our General Director, Guifré Homedes, presented to the media the 12th Market Report of 2024 by Amat Immobiliaris, which encompasses and summarizes our data from the past year and how we approach 2025.

About 16 media outlets attended the presentation held at our Amat Luxury office in Balmes, where we discussed the lack of housing supply, especially in the rental market, the increase in foreign tenants, as well as the rise in second-hand sales and new construction developments.

“It is necessary to consider property owners as allies and encourage them to invest more.”

Rental Market

Access to rental housing has been one of the major concerns of 2024. The main factor behind this collapse is the lack of turnover of available housing. Without turnover, the supply cannot be renewed, causing a market blockage. Despite this, the rental portfolio has shown stability in the number of resignations, which has been practically the same as in 2023.

The main reasons tenants left their homes were: 33% moved to another rental apartment, 28% became homeowners (through purchase or inheritance), 22% moved abroad, 10% due to personal reasons, and 7% for other reasons.

The average duration of a rental contract is 3.92 years, and in 5% of cases, the landlord decides not to renew the contract. Contracts signed last year have decreased by 18% compared to 2023 and by up to 43% over the past two years. This has caused revenues to fall back to levels from 25 years ago.

Rental prices have shown an irregular trend. The first quarter saw an artificial but short-lived increase. In general terms, the average rental price has fallen by 1.8% from last year, breaking a 6% annual growth trend over the past three years. However, in terms of absolute rent, we have observed an increase in rental incomes due to a greater number of houses being rented compared to apartments, resulting in a higher overall rental income.

Foreign tenants occupy a large part of the rental market, as they are considered financially stronger candidates. Additionally, in our business model, we only publish 25% of available properties on real estate portals, managing the rest internally through registered requests or prior commitments, offering “off-market housing” to optimize management. This may explain why real estate portals mostly display seasonal rental listings.

“The rental situation has worsened due to an excessive sanctioning regime, increasing risks for companies in the sector.”

Seasonal Rental

Seasonal rental has been one of the most debated topics in recent months, especially after the regulation was approved just before the elections, lasting only one month. Although its duration was short, it had a direct impact on the market.

We have not observed a shift from long-term to short-term contracts. Our seasonal rental portfolio has grown slightly, and activity has remained stable despite new regulations. This demonstrates that seasonal rental meets a real need and does not replace long-term contracts.

If this type of rental disappears, demand will remain, potentially shifting pressure to the long-term rental market, creating a long-term supply and demand imbalance.

At Amat, we believe that regulations should be designed with a long-term vision, considering the needs of all market players to ensure a sustainable balance.

In our case, the average duration of a seasonal stay is 13 months. 83% of seasonal rental tenants relocate to our country for educational purposes, mainly business schools. Additionally, 12.5% do so for work reasons, and the remaining 4.5% for other personal reasons.

Sales Market

Second-Hand Sales

Regarding second-hand sales, 2024 has been a year of significant growth. Sales volume has increased by 13%, and transactions have grown by 21% compared to 2023. This reflects a bipolar situation where demand remains high, but supply is scarce.

In this context, the Golden Visa has had a significant impact, artificially accelerating transactions, as many foreign buyers purchase properties previously intended for rental. At Amat, 12% of sales transactions have been to non-EU buyers.

The second-hand market has followed an upward price trend, with an 8% increase in the supply volume compared to 2023.

New Construction

The new construction market has experienced a 20% growth in sales, at a faster pace than in 2023. Buyers are typically people who cannot access rental housing and opt for purchasing instead.